Jon Westfall
11-07-2007, 04:00 PM
<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevevolution-3.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Clothing<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.scottevest.com/">SCOTTEVEST</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/Evolution_Jacket.shtml">SCOTTEVEST Website</a><br /><b>Price:</b> $150.00 USD<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Body, ranging in size from Small to XXXLT.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><br /><li>Awesome material - light yet waterproof and warm;<li>Nice pocket layout and accenting on the interior;<li>You can take pretty much anything you want with you, and look good doing it.<br /><br /><b>Cons:</b><br /><li>Sizing may run a bit small;<li>Key holder is made of plastic;<li>Only comes in black (great for me, others may want color!).<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b><br />SCOTTEVEST's latest offering brings hidden things to light (with accented pockets and lining) and is silky smooth to the touch. While effortless integration of your digital life into your clothing may seem a lofty goal, this jacket promises to not only do that, but also to provide a waterproof exterior and unparalleled versatility. It's called an Evolution, but is it enough for you to change out of your current cold-weather gear for?<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>First Impressions </b></span><br />I received my SCOTTEVEST Evolution Jacket on a day that wasn't very cool, so I decided to open it up and give it a good once-over analysis. I wanted to see what points really struck me as innovative and neat on this jacket compared to my other SCOTTEVEST wear. All last winter I wore a Tactical 4.0 Jacket and so most of my comparisons will come with the caveat that I'm making them versus the Tactical 4. <br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevevolution-2.jpg><br /><i>Figure 1: The X-Ray promotional image of the Evolution jacket. Amazingly, if you were to store all of that in the jacket, you really wouldn't have any bulges!</i><br /><br />The first thing that struck me as new was the feel of this jacket compared to other SCOTTEVEST wear. The website lists it as "lightweight, waterproof breathable fabric", a description that doesn't really underscore how cool the material feels when running your hand over it. It almost feels a bit like suede, and is very soft. I don't know how functional the feel is, other than it may make people more inclined to hug you.<br /><br />Second, the Evolution jacket doesn't try to hide the pockets on the interior like my tactical 4.0 does. In fact, it accents them! The interior pockets are lined with a red piping that allows the wearer to easily find where to put things like an iPod (in fact in the promotional pictures of the jacket, there is a iPod sitting next to an iPod Nano - not sure why you'd take both with you, but this jacket makes it an option!). The Evolution Jacket has 25 pockets in all, down around 10 from the Tactical that I'm used to. I would never say that I am at a loss for storage space in the Evolution jacket, and I would say that the decision to accent the pockets on the Evolution is a good one. After all, less pockets mean the accenting is not obtrusive. And whereas the lining of my Tactical 4.0 is chock-full-can't-run-a-hand-over-it-without-finding-a-pocket goodness, the Evolution jacket has a simplicity that the piping also accents.<br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevevolution-04.JPG><br /><i>Figure 2: An example of the piping & accents on the interior. To the left of the zipper pull is a small tag indicating that sunglasses would fit well in this pocket.</i><br /><br />Finally, upon putting on the jacket, I got my first negative impression - it's a bit small! I'm a pretty large guy (I wear the XXXLT size), however the XXXLT Evolution jacket is slightly smaller than XXXLT Tactical 4.0. I can still fit into it and zip it up, but it feels like I'm missing around 3 - 5 inches of "wiggle" room that my tactical 4.0 provides. I guess this is a good incentive to lose a bit of weight (I actually thought I may have gained some until I took the Evolution jacket off and put the Tactical on immediately after to confirm the difference. I doubt most people will have a problem with this, but perhaps consider using SCOTTEVEST's option when ordering to purchase 2, find which size fits best, and return the other. It's nice they state that they have no problem with this time and dignity saving measure!<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Usage</b></span><br />The Evolution jacket posed an interesting problem for me as an owner of other SCOTTEVEST products. Namely, when do you use it? When the weather is cold, below 45 degrees F, I rely on the Tactical 4.0. Above 45 and I'm using either the 4.0 fleece or the pullover fleece. When I got the Evolution, I wondered where it would fit in with my existing SCOTTEVEST items.<br /><br /><img src=http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-sevevolution-5.JPG><br /><i>Figure 3: On the right side of the jacket, two pockets ready to house music players are located. In SCOTTEVEST promotional materials, they are shown both having iPods - How many music junkies need two iPods? :-)</i><br /><br />The answer, as I found after a few weeks of wearing, was that it fell wherever I wanted it to. When the weather was warmer, the jacket was light enough to take off the sleeves and relax. When it got colder, it was still heavy enough to be warm. I don't think it can beat the 4.0 Tactical Jacket + 4.0 Tactical Fleece combo I sport during the coldest days of winter, but then again, one can't have it all! I do wish that the Evolution supported zipping in a fleece like the Tactical 4.0 does, however it probably would add substantial weight to a lightweight product.<br /><br /><span><b>Features: Old & New</b></span><br />There are a few features that I've found particularly interesting about the Evolution jacket, so I'll outline them below:<br /><br /><i>All Access Back Pocket</i><br />The Evolution has a back pocket that spans the entire width of the jacket, and what's even better - you can access that pocket through the front hand-warmer pockets at either side. On my 4.0 Tactical, opening the hook & loop fasteners to get into the back pocket always made me weary - I could never get them to seal up just right again. The Evolution jacket, however, seems to have a bit better fastening ability, so I can slip my hands in and out of that back pocket with ease. Now to look like a magician by putting something in the left pocket and magically pulling it out of the right!<br /><br /><i>Two-Way Front Zipper</i><br />For those of us who are a bit large, the 2 way zipper featured on the Evolution jacket is quite nice. Zip up while standing, and let a little hang out while sitting. Coupled with the fact that the jacket seems a bit more snug in my size than my other SCOTTEVEST wear, this feature can really come in handy.<br /><br /><i>Key Holder</i><br />I'm actually a bit disappointed with the Key holder on the Evolution. The key holders on my other SCOTTEVEST products generally fell into two categories. On the fleece pullover and hoodie, it was just a simple plastic hook that detached easily. On the Tactical 4.0 items, it was a nice metal spring-loaded hook that had a nice silver shine to it. On the Evolution, it looks like a strange amalgamation of the two. It's made of plastic (with a pin that holds it together that I worry may slip out) and seems a bit "cheaper" than on other jackets. As I've had the metal clips break in the past (and always got prompt service having them replaced by SCOTTEVEST), I'm wondering if the plastic is their answer to this problem. However I don't know - there's something about metal that just feels better!<br /><br /><i>No Bulge Pockets</i><br />So if you haven't gotten it so far, I'm not thin. When I put on this jacket, however, I really don't have any of those darn bulges that typically I sport as a larger than life geek. It's pretty amazing, since the jacket feels a bit tight, to look in the mirror and not see anything unsightly. Kudos to SCOTTEVEST for ingeniously positioning pockets for a no bulge look.<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />The Evolution Jacket is the next step in SCOTTEVEST's master plan to rule the world of Geek clothing. The material is fantastic, the accented pockets actually look cool and are functional, and overall it is of superb construction. Despite the fact that it seemed a bit small, and a few other minor issues, I'm planning on making heavy use of mine this year, allowing my fleeces to stay in the closet for use at home. If you've never owned a SCOTTEVEST jacket and don't want to put down too much money to start, the Evolution Jacket offers an affordable way to get a decent jacket that will make you the stylish geek about town! <br /><br /><i>Jon Westfall is a modern day mystery of an absent minded professor, semi-frustrated system administrator, avid technology enthusiast, and extreme cat picture-taker. He lives with his wife, a cat, a hamster, and a great lake. He also runs and writes on <a href="http://jonwestfall.com">JonWestfall.Com</a></i>